Rise of the Metallix Knight
by D'raekmus
Summary: With Chaos back where it belongs, Mamoru receives a call from his American cousin, Irwin Beltone.  Further complicating things, a mysterious fighter called the Metallix Knight appears, a strange soldier who fights with machines.  May become a crossover.
1. Chapter 1

Mamoru waited at the airport, as tourists from the United States filed out of Tokyo International Airport.

He frowned as he looked at his watch. _"Twenty minutes..."_ he mentally grumbled, starting to wonder if his cousin even came on this plane.

Just as he was about to turn back, a voice echoed across the terminal, as a brown haired, brown eyed boy roughly sixteen years of age hobbled over, leaning heavily on a black cane and carrying a small orange bag. He wore an eye patch over his right eye, the same side he leaned against.

"Sorry I'm late, cousin!" the boy apologized, panting slightly. "I didn't know Tokyo International was so large."

Mamoru nodded, "It's alright, Irwin. I'm just glad I could be here for you."

The American sighed, as they got into the car.

"I'll need to get this back soon. Haruka wasn't too pleased to find out that I needed it." Mamoru explained to his cousin, beginning to push on the accelerator.

Irwin let out a small laugh. "Fine with me. I can take the abuse."

Both laughed as they left the airport behind, car flashing through the roads.

* * *

Irwin stretched as they entered Mamoru's apartment.

Letting out a small whistle, the American commented, "Nice place you have here."

The older man shrugged. "It's not much, but the view is nice." He proceeded to the kitchen.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" he asked cordially.

Mamoru looked up, noticing that Irwin was looking at a picture he had hanging up of he and a blonde woman.

"I'm alright, Mamoru. Who is this, a friend of yours?" the cousin asked, carefully analyzing every part of the picture: the color of the grass, the clothing, facial expressions.

Mamoru chuckled. "Pretty, isn't she? She's Usagi."

Irwin nodded, entranced.

"She's also my girlfriend." he finished flatly.

The cousin snapped around suddenly coming to attention.

"Oh, well, you have quite the catch," he stammered nervously, taking in the details of the other pictures in the room: the brunette in green, a woman with teal-colored hair engrossed in a book, a second blonde triumphantly standing on a stage, and a black-haired beauty in Shinto garb.

Off to one side, Irwin also noticed a small portrait of a woman with strong, athletic and masculine features; a blue-haired lady with a violin in hand accompanied by a little black-haired girl; in the back of them all, a green haired woman seemed to almost be protecting them.

Mamoru chuckled, "Don't worry, Irwin. You'll get to meet everyone tomorrow."

Irwin smiled. "Thanks, Cuz. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Mamoru only replied with a shrug.

* * *

"Everyone, this is my cousin from the United States, Irwin Beltone. He'll be staying in my home while I continue my studies in America." Mamoru introduced the nervous American.

They had gathered outside the Cherry Hill Shrine, and Irwin was incredibly nervous. He wore a pair of denim pants and a cream-colored shirt. Instead of an eye patch, Irwin wore a pair of simple sunglasses and leaned on a mahogany cane.

After everyone introduced themselves, Irwin concentrated for a moment.

"Let's see if I can remember who's who..." he said.

First, Irwin pointed towards the brunette wearing a light green windbreaker.

"Makoto Kino," to which the woman nodded.

Next, he pointed to the blonde with a single ribbon in her hair.

"Minako Aino," to which the blonde nodded her head feverishly.

He pointed towards the third, the raven-haired priestess.

"Rei Hino," earning a shrug from the woman.

Finally, he pointed at the blue-haired girl that was studying, even now.

"And, of course, Ami Mizuno. I've heard about you and your emphasis on intelligence. A commendable effort," he commented.

Ami looked up, and reddened slightly.

"Uh, yes, I am a little bit of a study bug." she nervously replied, before going back to her studies.

Irwin looked around.

"Aren't there four others?" he asked, as a car pulled up, and four more girls got out.

"Sorry we're late," the sandy-haired one said, wearing a unique garb that, had Irwin not known better, would have made anyone mistake her for a man.

The aqua-haired woman got out next, wearing a modest dress.

"I just couldn't decide what shade to wear." she admitted.

Finally, the last two passengers got out: the green-haired woman and the little girl.

Irwin nodded, and said, "Don't tell me: Haruka Tenoh, Michiru Kaioh, and Setsuna Meioh and Hotaru Tomoe.

Shocked, they all nodded, as the little one, Hotaru, pointed at Irwin.

"Setsuna-mama, why is he walking with a cane?" she asked loudly.

Setsuna, the green-haired one, tried to quietly explain that it wasn't polite to ask that.

Irwin waved his hand casually.

"Oh, it's alright, Ms. Meioh. I'm often asked that. I guess I should tell you all exactly what happened."

* * *

You see, I wasn't always like you see me now. I used to live with my parents in America. We were the Beltone family, and had a large fortune from stock speculations.

Despite this, we lived rather modestly. Though we never lacked for anything, me and my siblings were raised to learn how to earn our own means.

We lived very happily, until about six months ago.

During the middle of the night, a gas line in our house ruptured, leading to an explosion that killed everyone in our house: my parents, my siblings, everyone.

I, however, was lucky enough to have avoided most of the explosion. Unfortunately, the flash of the explosion burned my eye, and the concussive force of the explosion itself shattered my right leg.

After three months of agonizing surgery to remove what was left of my right eye, and to reconstruct as much of my leg as possible, I was left an orphan.

However, my next of kin was alerted: Mamoru Chibia in Japan, a cousin of mine with whom my family had been in erratic contact with.

I had found this strange, since, as far as I knew, my cousin was going to study in America until his flight was mysteriously destroyed. I'm still not sure how he managed to survive such a brush with death. Perhaps it's genetic.

Anyway, we made contact, and prepared arrangements for me to be here, and have some of my possessions from America shipped over in bits and pieces, depending on how much allowance I am given from my family's fortune.

You see, I could have lived alone just well, except that my family's fortune is locked away from my grasp until I am 18, which isn't for another two years.

In the meantime, I will be living in Mamoru's apartment while he studies abroad, acting as a caretaker of sorts.

* * *

Irwin sighed as he finished his story. Minako and Usagi were in tears.

"You poor dear..." the pop idol cried.

Rei smacked both of their heads.

"Get ahold of yourselves. You two are more brooding than he is!" she hissed, looking oddly at the American.

Makoto leaned back, stretching her arms.

"So, I guess I'll have to treat you to lunch at some point, Irwin. I doubt you can really cook." she lazily opened one eye.

Irwin let out a small laugh.

"I know some basics, but, until my books arrive, I'm afraid I'll be eating Ramen Noodles and Twinkies."

Ami looked up, curious.

"Books? What kind of books?"

Irwin smiled, answering,

"Not much, just a few books on stir-fry cooking, a couple of repair manuals for my car, and some simple literature, really."

"What kind of car?" Haruka asked, curious.

Mamoru cleared his throat.

"I think that's enough questions for now. I'm pretty sure Irwin is in the district. I'm going to take him on a tour around the area."

He began to walk out with Usagi and Irwin, when a voice broke the silence.

"May I give him a tour?"

Everyone turned, to see Ami standing there, book closed, and entirely focused.

Mamoru, slightly stunned, nodded.

"Why not?"

* * *

After Irwin and Ami toured the Juban district, they began to head back towards Mamoru's apartment.

"Thank you..." Irwin said.

Ami shrugged. "It was the least I could do."

Irwin nodded, then added.

"You know, everyone seemed shocked that you offered. Why is that?"

Ami blushed. "Well, it's just that... there's something about you that seems..."

Suddenly, a nearby trash can exploded.

As the dust cleared, both saw a strange beast standing there.

"Wh... what is that?" Irwin exclaimed, a little scared.

Ami gasped.

"Irwin, get out of here!" she shouted, pushing him away as the monster struck with a deadly-looking barbed tail.

The American shook his head defiantly, drawing his cane.

"I'm not leaving you here, Ami."

The genius tried to find a reason for Irwin to leave, but that was all cut short as he twisted the handle of his cane.

With one quick move, Irwin bent his cane into an odd angle, as a trigger guard popped out. All in all, the cane looked like a rather cleverly-concealed gun.

Raising an eyebrow at Ami, he said, "Bet you didn't expect that?" then turned the gun towards the monster, firing a spray of bullets at the beast.

The monster roared, and lashed out. Ami was nearly hit, until Irwin pushed her out of the way, throwing the poor boy into a nearby alley.

The genius ducked into another alleyway, and pulled out her transformation pen.

"Mercury Crystal Power, Make-Up!" she shouted, transforming into Sailor Mercury with a flash of water.

The blue-haired Senshi of water emerged.

"I don't know why you are here, but I will have to stop you from destroying any innocent bystanders," she said, striking a pose.

The creature seemed to ignore her, slowly walking towards the alleyway that Irwin fell into.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" she yelled, unleashing freezing water upon the beast.

The monster shrugged, then turned towards Mercury, lashing out with its tail, nearly hitting her.

Just as the Senshi of water was about to call for help, she heard a gunshot, as the beast arched its back, letting out a roar in pain.

The monstrous creature turned, as the street lights shone on a strange sight.

Standing in the middle of the street, a man wearing a headset, and a red bandana stood, piloting a giant machine almost twice the size of a normal person.

The monster lunged, suddenly intent upon this strange new target, when the hands suddenly unleashed a storm of bullets, perforating the beast before it could take another step.

"That takes care of that..." the figure said, turning his back to Mercury.

Confused, the Senshi shouted out, "Wait! Who... who are you?"

The machine stopped and turned, showing the driver to have one normal brown eye and one eye glowing red, a bionic implant.

"I... am the Metallix Knight, an ally to those who wish to fight evil." He said before running off, with speed that nobody could match.

* * *

Irwin groaned as he woke up, seeing Ami.

"Wh-what was that?" he slurred.

Ami shook her head. "It's nothing, it's gone now. Mamoru must be worried sick."

* * *

"So, this 'Metallix Knight' just suddenly appeared?" Rei asked, skeptic of the story.

Ami nodded, as she looked into the sky. "It's strange, too. This knight just came out of nowhere, killed the Youma, and vanished without a trace. Not even my computer could keep up with his machine."

Makoto stroked her chin, deep in thought. "A soldier who fights with machines..." she muttered, before shrugging, "I don't know, Ami. It sounds too farfetched to me."

Luna rolled her eyes. "Like Sailor Senshi, a Moon Kingdom, and talking cats aren't."

Minako giggled, "Of course not, Luna. Nobody in our world can possibly have made that kind of machine, right? I mean, it sounds more advanced than anything we've met before."

Artemis nodded, looking into the distance as well.

"That's what I'm afraid of. If we encounter this strange knight again, we must ask him a few more questions." the white cat said.

Rei nodded. "There's something strange about Irwin, as well. Almost like..."

"Almost like what?" Irwin cheerily asked, having arrived with Mamoru and Usagi.

The other girls jumped, as Rei tried to finish her sentence.

"Like... an eavesdropper!" she accused.

Irwin shrugged. "Well, I didn't mean to ruin your conversation."

Ami shook her head. "We just finished."

Mamoru smiled.

"Good. Irwin needs help getting ready."

The American smiled, "Yes, I'm afraid I have no idea on how to prepare for your Juban High School." He looked down, a little embarrassed.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you for the reviews. Anyway, as for why Irwin wasn't introduced to Usagi, well... the only reasoning I can give is that, since he was in contact with his cousin, he would probably have been introduced to her at some point. I'm sorry, I can't think of a good way to address this issue... Thanks for pointing it out though. I will try to avoid issues like that in the future.

Anyway, I don't know if I mentioned it, but the Metallix Knight will have a lot of ideas drawn from various geniuses, such as Eggman and Dr. Wily from Megaman.

In addition, expect there to be more to Irwin than meets the eye.

I'll try to post a better description when Metallix reappears.

* * *

Irwin tried on one of the male uniforms of the high school, critically analyzing how it looked.

Mamoru silently watched his cousin looking over himself in a mirror.

"I don't know. I guess it fits alright, but I don't like the feel of it. Seems a little stuffy, really." Irwin commented, pulling slightly at the neck.

Mamoru chuckled, amused by his reaction.

"Well, you'll only have to wear them at school, so you can always change after classes." he suggested.

Irwin nodded, before going back in, changing into a simple white polo and denim jeans.

"Well, I think that's all the clothes shopping I can handle today." Irwin sighed, flopping down onto a nearby chair, exhausted.

Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "Really? Maybe I should take you along when I'm with Usagi." he shuddered.

Irwin let out a small laugh in response.

"There is worse, cousin. Imagine what it would have been like if my sister survived. She had an entire room dedicated to shoes alone."

Both men shuddered at the idea.

* * *

When they returned to his apartment, Mamoru noticed something odd.

"Hey, Irwin-kun. There's a package here from America for you."

Irwin smiled, and picked up the very large package.

"Well, Mamo-senpai, it seems that my first package of materials has arrived." he replied, eager to open the box.

Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "Materials? First?" he asked.

Irwin nodded. "Yes, it's part of what I'm going to do in my spare time. You see, I still have an obligation to keep a close eye on my family's company, Beltone Enterprises, since I am it's largest stockholder still."

He placed the box upon the table inside.

"The first part is to establish a very secure connection between here, and the server farm at the business HQ."

Irwin sliced open the packaging, pulling out a small laptop, seemingly new.

"I see Dr. Osmodius has supplied me with a new laptop for the situation. How courteous of him." he commented, starting it up.

He logged into the computer, and whistled.

"And an international aircard, too. That man does think of everything."

After several minutes, Irwin shut the laptop down.

Mamoru looked at him.

"I guess things will work out fine, then?" he asked.

Irwin nodded.

"Yeah, assuming I don't have any issues with your group of friends."

Mamoru chuckled, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Well, just remember: Usagi-chan will probably pester you about any news from me, Ami-san will try to study with you. You did mention your books after all. Rei-san, I wouldn't worry too much about. She usually keeps to herself more than anyone else. Minako-san... She'll probably try playing a game or something on your laptop, just to warn you."

Mamoru smirked. "And, most importantly, watch out for Mako-san. She's probably already thinking that you look like her old boyfriend."

Irwin let out a small laugh as well.

"I doubt it, unless her old flame was a pirate!"

Both boys chuckled over this for several minutes, until the door rang.

Mamoru immediately jumped up, and answered the door.

Usagi burst in, laughing as she practically leaped into Mamoru's arms.

"Oh, Mamo-chan. I missed you so much!" she squealed.

Irwin looked up, and sighed.

"You only saw him yesterday..." he pointed out.

Usagi stuck her tongue out. "Oh, Irwin-kun! Don't be so mean! You would never understand, of course. Mamo-chan and I are special!"

Irwin rolled his eyes, and said, without even turning towards the door.

"You two have a good date."

Mamoru nodded.

"Have a good night, Irwin."

As soon as the door closed, Irwin cautiously looked up, noting that they were gone.

"_Good.."_ he thought, as he reached into the box, pulling out a small police scanner.

"Let's see if there's anything of interest going on with Tokyo's Finest right now." he mumbled to himself, tuning the device to Tokyo Police's radio frequencies.

* * *

In another part of Tokyo, a grizzled old man wearing a black military uniform looked at his two subordinates: a gangly man with frizzled blonde hair, and a woman with medium-length orange hair.

"Tell me..." the leader calmly began, "Why did our latest weapon fail?"

The blonde man thought for several minutes, his bloodshot eyes having difficulty focusing.

"Um... because this Metallix Knight dude appeared?" he asked.

The old man chuckled, calmly patting the blonde on the back.

"Oh, no..." he said calmly, then suddenly picked up the larger man and threw him across the small dark room, slamming the blonde into the wall with enough force to leave an imprint of his body.

"NO!" he shouted. "IT'S BECAUSE YOU IDIOTS DIDN'T ENGINEER IT CORRECTLY! IF IT WAS TRULY INVINCIBLE IT WOULD HAVE FLATTENED ANY OPPOSING FORCE! AND IT LOST TO SOME MORON IN A MACHINE!"

The man panted heavily, regaining his composure, smoothing his unruly hair.

"Sir... If I may." the orange haired woman began.

Receiving a nod, she continued,

"It was a prototype, and, as such, was only the first experiment. What we had built was designed to combat the Sailor Senshi, not some loose cannon in a suit. I assure you that we are already building the next prototype Youma to unleash upon them."

The old man sighed.

"How long until you are finished?"

The woman was silent a moment, before replying.

"Assuming no delays, we should be able to run it without a hitch in five months." Amused, she added, "Just in time for Christmas."

The man shook his head.

"No, that's too long. We need results now!" he demanded.

The woman smiled.

"Oh, don't worry your cunning mind on that, my Lord. We have already created a series of Youma to unleash upon this dingy little city. Using them, we will be able to continue our research, letting these pawns be test subjects of our experimental weapons, ultimately refining everything for the creation of our ultimate little beast."

The woman continued, after a moment of silence.

"In addition, these prototypes could gather the organic energy we require to fuel our ultimate weapon. Already, our energy draw from this pathetic town's power grid is at maximum capacity."

The man chuckled.

"Oh, Vipera. You are a devious little soul. Good thing I'm not against you."

The woman bowed before leaving.

"Yes, my Lord."

* * *

Rei was with Ami, inside the Hikawa Shrine. Rei, once again, was trying to perform fire-reading, to see the true nature of Metallix Knight.

As she cast the last chant, a shadowy image flickered in the flames.

Ami gasped, seeing a young man with unruly brown hair, a headset in one ear, and a glowing red cybernetic eye in place of his right.

"That's him!" she exclaimed.

Rei nodded, and concentrated more.

"Tell us... who exactly is he? Why does he appear now?"

However, the flames muddled, removing the image. Rei sat back, sighing.

"It's no use. The fire simply won't tell us anything more about Metallix Knight." she looked down at her hands, discouraged.

Ami stood up, a new idea reaching into her mind.

"Perhaps not, but don't you think it's a little bit of a coincidence that when Irwin-san came to live here, this Knight appeared on the same night?"

Rei nodded, deep in thought.

"There may be a connection. However, there is one problem with your theory: Irwin-san only came here with a small amount of clothing, nothing large enough to carry a machine of that size."

The blue-haired genius looked down, thinking.

"Then... perhaps, it's not Irwin-san, but, rather, someone else?"

Rei shrugged.

"I don't know."

* * *

Irwin began dozing off, listening to the static on his scanner.

Truthfully, there was nothing of interest right now, just fires, a robbery, and some other small problems Tokyo's Finest could handle just fine.

No, he was looking for information on...

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Irwin groaned, stretched, and placed his laptop down, shutting off the scanner in the process.

He opened the door, only to see Makoto and Minako standing there, smiling.

"Hello, Irwin-kun! We brought you some dinner!" the tall brunette explained, presenting a bag with a sweet-smelling aroma.

The blonde giggled, as she added, "We also figured we could keep you some company, since Mamoru-kun is occupied with Usagi-chan."

Irwin smirked, before moving out of the way.

"Of course, ladies. Feel free to seat yourselves." he said, slowly returning to his laptop.

"Unfortunately, I'm having to review a few products for my company. It's part of my duty as acting Chairman." he apologized, indicating his laptop.

"The work is incredibly demanding, despite appearances, so I'm afraid I can't stop for much hospitality at the moment."

Makoto just waved the whole issue off.

"Oh, don't worry, Irwin-kun. I'm fine with that." she replied, taking off for the kitchen.

Minako sat down on the couch and curiously asked, "What exactly does your company do?"

Irwin smirked, and replied,

"Well, Minako-san, if you wish to really know, Beltone Enterprises is actually oriented around innovations. We take a concept, like the wheel, and improve upon it. In fact, one division has been experimenting with a new concept engine powered off of a mixture of petroleum and compressed hydrogen."

He tapped a few keys, bringing up a schematic of a car engine.

"If our tests prove the effective efficiency of such a device, we can move onto the next phase of transitioning the engine to pure, renewable hydrogen fuel, instead of toxic, dangerous petroleum. But, that's a ways off." He finished, closing the data.

The blonde just sat there, staring blank-eyed.

"Wow, you're smart..." she complimented, "I bet you'd be a great match for Ami-san."

Irwin chuckled, then shook his head.

"Oh, no... just because I have the intellect to understand these simple concepts and drawings, it doesn't mean that I have the same smarts as she does." He sighed.

"I'm not really a bookworm. I'm kind of a 'build the darn thing' kind of guy." He looked down at his hands.

"Well, you never know, Irwin-kun. She might..." Minako stopped as she noticed an odd device.

"Isn't that a police scanner?"

The American looked up in shock, amazed that such a ditzy blonde could know of such an item.

"Y-yes. I sometimes like listening to the police. Nice to hear them doing their job." he replied, as Minako turned the scanner on.

"Cool! I used to live in England for a while myself, and I loved listening to the police reports." she commented, tuning to the Tokyo Police band.

Irwin smirked, silently amazed that Minako was more than she seemed.

Makoto entered the room, setting down on a couch.

"Say, it's strange, but you remind me of my old boyfriend." the brunette noted, reclining.

The American shrugged. "Eh, he must have been a pirate or something. One eye, you know..." he said, pointing to his patch.

The blonde giggled at the idea of Makoto with a pirate, while the brunette simply glared at her friend.

"It's not that funny, Mina-san." she replied.

Minako was about to reply, when the scanner crackled to life.

"...Unknown entity has engaged our unit. Requesting backup! Requesting-" the scanner frizzled to static.

Confused, Irwin triangulated the signal's source, in the Tokyo Mall.

"Odd..." he commented, seemingly tuning out the two girls in the room as he hacked into the mall's security cameras.

A strange beast, wielding two massive crab-like claws, each with a large pipe connecting it to the main humanoid body, threw a police cruiser, roaring.

"Isn't that where Usagi-chan and Mamoru went?" Minako asked, peering over the American's shoulder.

Silence permeated the room, as the two girls nodded, heading to the door.

"We're sorry to do this, Irwin-kun, but I'm afraid we have something we need to do." Makoto said, pulling her blonde companion behind her.

"Uh, yeah. That thing!" Minako said, catching on.

Irwin merely nodded, watching them leave. Once they were gone, he walked over to the balcony, looking out at the darkening sky.

"So, the die is cast. I still do not know what you're plotting, but I won't allow you to harm innocent individuals in the process."

He clenched his fist, noting the faint scars where skin had to be replaced after what happened.

"Life is too precious to waste like that. In the name of my dead father, the esteemed Dr. Edwin Beltone, I will put an end to this monstrosity."


	3. Chapter 3

The Youma continued to tear through the mall, pulling out jewelery, as well as any other valuables. It chuckled darkly, as its crimson claws seemed to suck up the precious materials.

"Hehehe... this should provide more than enough funds for my masters!" it chuckled, turning towards the food court.

"Now, let's have a little fun..." it giggled again, before opening its lobster claws, and emitting a fast-traveling burst of green plasma, eradicating a table, as well as much of the floor around it.

"Hold it right there!" a voice shouted, causing the beast to turn.

In front of him, standing on the railing, were two women, in sailor fukus, the tall brunette dressed in green, matching her emerald eyes, the shorter blonde in orange, bringing out the blue in her irises.

"We stand for love and justice! We won't stand for the thievery of innocent merchants! In the name of Jupiter-" The brunette began.

"And Venus, we will punish you!" the blonde finished, as both struck an accusing pose at the monster.

The Youma merely chuckled again.

"You two have the spunk, but do you have the brawn to back up your claims?" he laughed, firing a bolt of plasma, narrowly missing Sailor Venus by a hair, instead engulfing a hot dog stand in flames.

"Venus Love-me Chain!" the Senshi of love shouted, forming a chain of golden hearts, which wrapped around one of the Youma's claws.

"Sparkling wide Pressure!" Sailor Jupiter shouted, sending a pulse of electrical energy down through the chain, electrocuting the Youma.

However, the beast still stood, giggling.

"That felt good! A shock a day keeps the doctor away, after all!" it taunted, opening up both claws, showing a set of wicked-looking barrels inside.

"Let me return the favor!" it added, firing a powerful double-bolt of plasma, shocking both of the Senshi -literally and figuratively.

Venus groaned, looking at herself.

"My hair's going to frizz like crazy!" she complained, tears forming on her face.

Jupiter let out a huff of air.

"Your hair's the least of your concerns right now! We've got to stop that Youma!" she said, trying to stand, only to feel severe burns on her body, enough to cause even the toughest Senshi to collapse in pain.

The Youma continued to ignore the two, until another voice broke the silence.

"I stand for love, and Justice! A soldier in a sailor suit! I am Sailor Moon, and in the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!" the blonde leader of the Senshi shouted, striking a pose.

The beast merely chuckled.

"Oh, goody, more target practice. And I was afraid I wouldn't use my weapons!" Without another word, the beast unleashed its plasma weapons again, knocking a large pile of rubble onto the Senshi, and continued on its determined path to continue collecting gems.

The Youma stopped again, as a rose smacked into its reinforced face, causing it to turn in agitation.

"Alright, now this is really starting to get annoying!" it roared, striking Tuxedo Mask before he could even make an introduction.

"Seriously, can't a monster for the Black Wings just steal stuff anymore? What has the world come to?" it shouted, as it walked off, smashing into an electronics store, stealing circuitboards and capacitors, and, for some reason, several rolls of duct tape.

As the beast walked out, noticing that the Senshi were still out of commission.

"Weaklings, the lot of them. How'd they become the dominant species is beyond my guess..." the lobster muttered, as an explosion suddenly split the roof, spewing dust everywhere.

The disabled, but still conscious, Senshi turned to look at the source of the disruption, as did the Youma, only to see a seven-foot-tall suit of black armor standing, its head now clear in the light.

The wearer had light brown hair, and a chocolate-colored eye. The other was a glowing red cybernetic implant. His face was scarred heavily, and seemed to be spattered with engine grease here and there. The rest of his body was obscured by the machine he was in.

The Youma laughed, slapping its insectoid knee, "Now we have a challenge! The boy in the metal body! This should be fun!"

The boy merely frowned.

"I am the Metallix Knight, leave these friends of mine alone, and return the stolen materials... or else." he threatened, retracting his right hand to show a wicked-looking gatling gun.

The Youma opened its claws again.

"Oh, I think I'll be taking these with me..." it said in a disturbing singsong voice, before firing two bolts of plasma at the suit.

Surprisingly, the suit withstood the attack, instead sliding to a stop right in front of an escalator, the mechanical legs inches away from the moving stairs.

"That was a good shot, beast. Let me return the favor to you now." Metallix replied, before shifting his right arm into the gatling gun again, firing at the Youma.

The monster easily dodged by climbing the walls onto the ceiling, before jumping down onto the knight, grasping him from behind.

"Oh, you're not pumping me full of lead, boy!" it hissed in his ear, shortly before gripping his neck with both claws, choking Metallix.

Despite his shaking, bashing against walls, and even rocketing his back into the ceiling, the knight could not shake the monster off.

He groaned, the edges of his vision becoming blurry as he felt his grip on reality slipping.

"Flame Sniper!" a voice called out, as a burst of fire threw the Youma off of his back, into a nearby wall.

The suited knight turned, to see two more women in sailor fukus: one with raven hair and a red skirt, the other he recalled as the Senshi he had helped out the other day.

"We stand for love and justice. Pretty soldiers in sailor suits. In the name of Mars and Mercury, we will punish you!" the said in unison, striking additional poses.

Mercury rushed over, collecting a sphere of ice in her hand.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" she called out, releasing a wave of liquid, which quickly froze the Youma in place.

Pulling out her computer, Mercury scanned it, while Metallix turned towards the disabled Senshi.

"Thank you, to both of you... for your help." the knight stated, lifting a pillar off of Sailor Moon effortlessly. Despite the physical trauma, the blonde princess was surprisingly unhurt.

"It's nothing. We're on the same side, it seems. Besides, friends help each other out." Mars explained, helping Jupiter up off of the ground.

"Friends?" the knight asked, looking a little conflicted, before shaking his head. "No, we aren't friends. We simply have a common enemy right now. One we cannot defeat separately." he growled, pulling out a first aid kit from a compartment on the front of the suit, gruffly handing it to Mars.

The Senshi of fire frowned, applying the medical kit to Jupiter's wounds, as Mercury ran back over, a look of bewilderment on her face.

"I just scanned the Youma. And... it's not good. The armor on it is able to repel even our strongest powers." She explained, showing the scans on her screen.

"And yet, the kinetic energy from the attacks still harmed it..." Metallix added, having carried Venus over from where she crashed, gently resting her unconscious form on the ground, before removing a set of smellingsalts from the kit.

"Normally, I'd prefer applying a jolt of electricity, to kick up the adrenaline as well, but I'm not sure how much more trauma your friend can stand..." he stated, as Venus came to.

The ice on the Youma began to crack, as Mercury gasped.

"We don't have much time! We need to figure out a strategy, and fast!" she exclaimed, looking worriedly at the other Senshi. Though Sailor Moon had recovered, Jupiter and Venus were still disabled, but conscious.

Tuxedo Mask approached from the shadows, his cape tattered.

"What can we do? If this creature is indeed immune to our powers, then all we can do is slow it down?" he asked, feeling, for the first time, discouragement.

Metallix clanked back over, his immense mechanical body eclipsing everyone.

"It's armor is impervious to you attacks... but what about mine?" he challenged, a plan already forming in his head.

"Here's what we'll do..."

* * *

The ice around the Youma shattered, as the beast lunged forward, its claws opened, ready to strike.

"Where are those damned Senshi..." it growled, slowly pacing around the mall, its crimson eyes scanning for any movement.

A voice boomed over the intercom, interrupting the monster's search.

"They are no longer here."

The beast turned, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Oh, really? And why can I trust you?"

The voice replied to it, calmly, "I am not a friend of theirs."

The beast chuckled, pointing its claws.

"Then why don't you show yourself, then?"

"Because I am not their enemy, either." the voice replied, as a slight whirr crackled over the speakers.

The Youma chuckled, backing into a corner.

"Then why do you fight me, if you have no affiliation with these Senshi?"

Suddenly, the wall wrapped around, revealing a set of heavy mechanical arms, as the Metallix Knight gripped the Youma.

"Because I don't tolerate innocent bystanders getting injured in the process." he growled, a new kind of ferocity in his voice.

The monster tried clawing at him, only to feel the machine suddenly let go, vanishing back through the shadows, it seemed.

"What..?" The youma barely breathed when it noticed a strange, beeping device on its chest. It gasped, as the red light flickered green, and an explosion rent through the beast's powerful armor. A powerful blast, yet focused in such a way to minimize damage around the area; not even the pillar beside the beast showed more than a series of small scratches. The floor was not so lucky.

When the smoke cleared, the Senshi slowly approached, Mars tense and ready for anything; Mercury cautious, scanning with her computer; Jupiter and Venus leaning against each other as they approached, still injured from their last attempt.

"Is-is it dead?" Jupiter asked Mercury. Just as the Senshi of water was about to respond, an ear-splitting scream emanated from the ground zero, as a burst of unrestrained plasma shot past, barely missing all of them.

The smoke cleared, and everyone, even Metallix, gasped.

Now standing where the heavily-armored Youma was, an unrecognizable beast stepped forward. Without all its armor, the monster seemed little more than a collection of organic muscles and organs grafted, painfully it seemed, onto a mechanical skeleton. The arms twisted painfully from muscles and ligaments to gears and hydraulics the closer the arms reached the now-exposed barrels of the plasma cannons. A single, thick cable led from the back end of each cannon, to a glowing green crystal on its chest, which gave the monster an almost nightmarish appearance.

"W-what is that thing? It's hideous!" Venus screamed, passing out again, knocking Jupiter over as well.

Just as Mars and Mercury moved in, intent on destroying it, the monster grabbed its head, suddenly letting out another dreadful screech, and collapsed, convulsing on the ground until its crystal "heart" erupted in a green light, and the beast remained still.

Mercury scanned it over, looking towards the other three Senshi and knight, and shook her head.

"It's... dead. No life signs at all, not even that crystal heart seems to be radiating energy."

Metallix stepped forward, his mechanical body whirring slightly from the walk.

"Cybernetic-psychosis." he muttered, kicking the body for good measure.

Mars turned, confused.

"Cyber-wha?" she asked.

Mercury suddenly looked up at the taller knight.

"Cybernetic-psychosis, Mars. It's-"

"The gradual decay of mental facilities as a result of having nerve tissue directly connected to computers, such as cybernetics. The more advanced and extensive the implant, the faster the decay. Frankly, with the amount of cybernetics this thing had, I'm surprise he lasted as long," Metallix interrupted.

He looked over the body once more, as Mercury nodded in agreement.

"How... horrible..." she muttered.

Suddenly, Metallix wrenched off one of the plasma cannons, looking it carefully over with his red glowing eye.

"It's just as I suspected..." he muttered, placing the part on the ground.

"What is it?" Mars asked, looking over the part herself. At least, the little she could move of the heavy cannon.

"Gather up your other friends here, and meet me on the rooftop. I'll explain there."

* * *

Sailors Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus, along with Tuxedo Mask, joined Metallix on the rooftop, seeing him holding the plasma cannon again.

"This device, no... this Youma, as you call them, was created by the Black Wings." he explained, turning around and showing a small pair of ebony wings spread as if in flight on the inside of the cannon.

Sailor Moon tilted her head, confused.

"Black... Wings?" she asked.

Mars scratched her chin, deep in thought.

"I've... never heard of them." she commented.

Venus looked up, her face like she had seen a ghost.

"I-I-I... I know who they are." she admitted, looking away.

"Who are they?" Mercury asked, as Jupiter nodded in agreement.

"I was briefly attacked by them... back in England... when I was Sailor V." Venus continued, looking up at the moonlight.

"They're an absolutely ruthless gang of lowlifes and criminals. In England, they tried using pop idols to enslave everyone to their will... Luckily, I thwarted them there." she turned back, looking brighter.

Metallix nodded, but sighed.

"You faced the Dark Agency sect of the organization. They spanned across Europe, using the same methods you mentioned. However, after your triumph over their leader in that area, they moved on, rejoining the Black Wings at large."

He looked away, a look of anger burning in his good eye.

"The Black Wings do look to take over the world and unite it under a single leader. However, their... methods are less than noble. Using idols, cybernetic monsters, genetic engineering, ancient rituals. You name it, they've tried it."

The knight turned back towards the group, his face stern and serious.

"Evidently, the higher ups in the Japan section have deemed you and the other Sailor Senshi a potential threat to their work. That would explain the two Youma that attacked and seemed resistant to your magic."

He once again picked up the plasma cannon, examining it.

"It's by our sheer luck that they still haven't found a way to bypass cybernetic-psychosis yet. There's no telling how much more dangerous that Youma could have been, had it been truly resistant to magic and energy-based weapons."

Mercury looked up, confused.

"You mean, that glowing heart..."

Metallix nodded, looking back at the part.

"It could have been, in all likelihood, another layer of armor. You saw the explosion. It could have been there to contain the power within the Youma, while also having the side effect of blocking it from outside forces."

"Wow, how do you know so much, Metallix? Did you once work for them?" Jupiter asked, a little suspicious.

Metallix shook his head, clearly enraged by Jupiter's question.

"I – don't – work – for – evil!" he growled, his voice threatening open bloodshed.

Mercury moved between them, facing the knight.

"Wait... I've noticed, Metallix... your eye, isn't it also cybernetic?" she asked, looking at the crimson orb that seemed to analyze her, pierce into her very soul.

Metallix stepped down, backing away slightly.

"It... is a piece of cybernetic hardware." he replied curtly.

"Then, won't you also eventually suffer from cybernetic-psychosis?" she reasoned, looking into his single good, brown eye.

His eye reflected an unreadable thought.

"Perhaps. But, if you are thinking of a case like the last Youma, don't worry. First of all, my only cybernetic is my eye. Even my suit isn't truly an attachment. That Youma had most of its body transferred onto a mechanical skeleton, a truly gruesome and traumatizing process. Secondly, it is possible to build up a resistance to the psychosis, provided that the additions are small, and meant to replace what has been lost. I'm more than willing to bet that a number of components were added to allow that creature's brain to control its body and all the parts."

Metallix looked up at the sky, seeing the first rays of light from the sun.

"I'm afraid I have to cut our conversation short. However, don't forget this: The Black Wings are tracking you, trying to destroy you. I cannot allow their evil to continue. Whenever you encounter another Youma beast, I will also appear, to assist in its destruction."

As his suit's back expanded, revealing a small jetpack, Metallix sighed, looking at the approaching dawn.

"It's always darkest before the sunrise." he muttered, taking off in a blast.

* * *

The white-haired leader roared, throwing a clipboard at the hazy blonde subordinate.

"You IDIOT! What in the Hell made you think it a good idea to waste a perfectly good set of plasma cannons on a research probe?"

The blonde hid behind a nearby desk, trying to make himself small.

"S-s-sorry. Needed to fool... Senshi." he stuttered, as the clipboard smashed through the top of the desk.

"Shut it, the both of you!" Vipera hissed, walking into the room, to which the older man seemed to calm down.

"I gave the order for Ovis to install the plasma cannons," she explained, stepping down onto the floor. "We need to fool the Senshi into thinking that we're sending more dangerous Youma after them, to test their limits. We can't let them think that we're really gathering information on them, gauging their individual weaknesses, to turn into our invincible Youma. Still, we do have a problem with that Metallix fool sticking around. His weapons are strong enough to break our magical barriers."

The old man turned, letting out a huff, as he sat in a chair.

"Then have R&D whip up a set of armor that's resistant to both magic and physical weapons."

Vipera nodded, adding, "There is one other problem as well. One that won't be so easy to fix."

The leader turned, raising an eyebrow.

"You mean the cybernetic-psychosis?"

Vipera nodded, as the man turned back to the console,

"Not a problem. Surely you remember our old little side project, the one that fool tried to keep us from completing. What was his name, Edward? Stuart? Ah, does it really matter, he's dead!" He seemed to be talking to himself more than to Vipera.

"Yes... Vipera, I want you to take Ovis with you. You two have a special mission..."

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took so long to write this little chapter. Real life can be a pain at times.


End file.
